Background: Carib Indians occupied the islands for hundreds of years before the British began settlement in 1623. The islands became an associated state of the UK with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998 a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to separate from Saint Kitts.

Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N 62 45 W

Area
Rank: 212
Comparative: one and a half times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 135 km

Climate: tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors

Natural resources: arable land

Irrigated land: 0.2 km²

Total renewable water resources: 0.02 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October)

Geography
Note: with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball the two volcanic islands are separated by a 3-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island

Population: 50,726 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 209
Growth rate: 0.806% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 134
Below poverty line: NA%

Ethnic groups: predominantly black; some British Portuguese and Lebanese

Languages: English (official)

Religions: Anglican other Protestant Roman Catholic

Population growth rate: 0.806% (2012 est.)
Rank: 134

Birth rate: 13.9 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 145

Death rate: 7.08 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 128

Net migration rate: 1.24 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 49

Environment
Current issues: NA

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 149

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 97

Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 155

Physicians density: 1.095 physicians/1000 population (2000)

Hospital bed density: 6 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Education expenditures: 9.6% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 6

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town Saint Anne Sandy Point Saint George Basseterre Saint George Gingerland Saint James Windward Saint John Capesterre Saint John Figtree Saint Mary Cayon Saint Paul Capesterre Saint Paul Charlestown Saint Peter Basseterre Saint Thomas Lowland Saint Thomas Middle Island Trinity Palmetto Point

Independence: 19 September 1983 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 19 September (1983)

Constitution: 19 September 1983

Legal system: English common law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (14 seats 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of a Court of Appeal and a High Court; based on Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Kitts and Nevis); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

Political parties and leaders: Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Shawn RICHARDS]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS C Caricom CDB CELAC FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ITU MIGA NAM OAS OECS OPANAL OPCW Petrocaribe UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WHO WIPO WTO

Diplomatic representation
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green the lower triangle is red; green signifies the island's fertility red symbolizes the struggles of the people from slavery yellow denotes year-round sunshine and black represents the African heritage of the people; the white stars stand for the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis but can also express hope and liberty or independence and optimism

National symbols: brown pelican

Economy overview: The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis depends on tourism; since the 1970s tourism has replaced sugar as the traditional mainstay of the economy. Following the 2005 harvest the government closed the sugar industry after several decades of losses. To compensate for lost jobs the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy such as export-oriented manufacturing and offshore banking. Roughly 200,000 tourists visited the islands in 2009 but reduced tourism arrivals and foreign investment led to an economic contraction in 2009-2012 and the economy has not yet returned to growth. Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean St. Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and shifts in tourism demand. Furthermore the government is constrained by one of the world's highest public debt burdens - equivalent to roughly 140% of GDP in 2012 - largely attributable to public enterprise losses.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 207

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 187

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 81

Agriculture products: sugarcane rice yams vegetables bananas; fish

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 18,170 (June 1995)
Rank: 210

Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1997)
Rank: 46

Population below poverty line: NA%

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 155

Taxes and other revenues: 25.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 126

Public debt: 154% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 4

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9.8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 7

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 56

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9.2% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 98

Stock of narrow money: $275.6 million (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 172

Stock of broad money: $879.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 170

Stock of domestic credit: $860 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 158

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 110

Current account balance: -$133.8 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 71

Exports: $58.6 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 197
Commodities: machinery food electronics beverages tobacco
Partners: US 57.7% Canada 9.8% Russia 5.2% Germany 4.2% (2011)

Imports: $315.7 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 197
Commodities: machinery manufactures food fuels
Partners: Algeria 60.4% US 14.3% Trinidad and Tobago 7.8% (2011)

Debt external: $199.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 185

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 135 million kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 188
Consumption: 125.6 million kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 192
Exports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 125
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 128
Installed generating capacity: 22,000 kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 195
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 36
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 172
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 195
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 183

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 183
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 178
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 117
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 182

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 192
Products consumption: 1496 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 196
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 129
Products imports: 1699 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 184

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 186
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 190
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 144
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 126
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 188

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 303,500 Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 187

Telephones
Main lines in use: 20,600 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 188
Mobile cellular: 84,600 (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 195

Broadcast media: the government operates a national TV network that broadcasts on 2 channels; cable subscription services provide access to local and international channels; the government operates a national radio network; a mix of government-owned and privately-owned broadcasters operate roughly 15 radio stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .kn
Hosts: 54 (2012)
Hosts rank: 214
Users: 17,000 (2009)
Users rank: 196

Military expenditures: NA

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

Airports: 2 (2012)
Rank: 203

Railways
Rank: 131

Roadways
Rank: 200

Merchant marine
Rank: 38

Ports and terminals: Basseterre Charlestown

Disputes international: joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation a criterion under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity